Machine for operating on shoes



March 8, 1955 H. A. IMHOF 2,703,421

MACHINE FOR OPERATING ON SHOES Filed April 4, 1951 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Inventor Herman A. [in/207" vBy his/l zzorney March 8, 1955 H. A. IMHOF 2,703,421

MACHINE FOR OPERATING ON SHOES Filed April 4, 1951 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 96 90 O i 94 ez E I W ,1 w ji /r6 H. A. IMHOF MACHINE FOR OPERATING 0N SHOES March 8, 1955 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed April 4, 1951 a I l Ii Jill Y invenmr fzrman Almhof By his A zzorney Unit MAfIHINE FOR GPERATING N SHOES Application April 4, 1951, Serial No. 219,197

2 Claims. (Cl. 1212.1)

This invention relates to machines for operating on shoes and, more particularly, to a machine for use in working selected portions of the upper materials of a shoe in over, and for securing these materials to, the bottom of the shoe in locations adjacent to the opposite ends of the breastline, i. e., breastline lasting. It will be understood, however, that the machine of this invention is not limited in its utility to use in breastline lasting or the features of this invention limited to embodiment in the exact mechanical construction herein illustrated.

In the lasting of shoes, it is a common practice for the side laster to perform what is known as the breastline lasting operation before the shoe is presented to the side-lasting machine. In this breastline lasting operation, the operator, after spindling the shoe, first pulls up the quarter and lining and correctly positions the w ng of the counter, in a location adjacent to the breastline on one side of the shoe, and then, while holding these parts in position by pressure exerted on the side of the upper, he removes the shoe from the spindle and presents it to the lasting machine which is utilized to wipe in the lasting margins of the upper and lining and to drive a fastening therethrough and also through the counter wing, thereby securing these parts in lasted position. Now, the shoe is again spindled and the procedure just described is repeated on the opposite side of the shoe, ad acent to the breastline. During the transfer of the shoe from the spindle to the lasting machine, it is very difficult for the operator to prevent some slight creep back, or loosening, of the upper which he has just previously tensioned, and such loosening may not be wholly removed by the subsequent action of the wiper of the lasting machine. Also, where the wings of the counter are quite stiff and partly upstanding, it is almost impossible for the operator to support the shoe with suilicient rigidity for the wiper of the lasting machine to wipe down and flatten out the counter wings, upper and lining, in the desired manner.

An object of this invention is to provide a novel and improved machine for facilitating the breastline lasting operation and particularly the final steps of wiping over and fastening the upper, lining and counter wings at the opposite sides of the shoe. To this end, and in accordance with a feature of this invention, a fastener-inserting machine is provided with a fixed wiper, located adjacent to the fastener driver and having an operating surface, together with a shoe support mounted for movement relatively to the wiper, to cause selected portions of the upper materials to be engaged progressively by the operating surface of the wiper, the shoe support being arranged to support a shoe thereon yieldingly in a predetermined heightwise position, relatively to the wiper, and the operating surface of the wiper being disposed obliquely with respect to the path of movement of the support. Thus, as the support is moved to cause the progressive engagement of the operating surface of the wiper with selected portions of the upper materials of the shoe, the shoe will be forced downwardly thereby causing the wiper to exert increasing pressure on the upper materials and facilitating the wiping operation, especially the flattening out of the counter wings. More particularly, the shoe support includes a spring and an adjustable abutment which are so arranged that the shoe support is adapted to support a shoe yieldingly in a variably predetermined heightwise position, relatively to the wiper.

For further facilitating the breastline lasting opera- States Patent 2,703,421 Patented Mar. 8, 1955 tion, and particularly to insure a tightly lasted upper, the herein illustrated machine is provided with means for wiping the upper in a direction heightwise of the last as the shoe support is moved to'cause the operating surface of the fixed wiper to engage the upper materials. More specifically, the fastener-inserting machine includes a control member comprising an abutment having an operating surface and being movable yieldingly in response to pressure exerted thereon. This abutment is located adjacent to the operating surface of the wiper so that, as the support is moved to cause the operating surface of the wiper to engage the lasting margins of the upper materials, the upper at the side of the last is pressed against the operating surface of the abutment. Thus, as the shoe is moved downwardly, during the action of the fixed wiper, the upper at the side of the shoe will be wiped in a direction heightwise of the last, by the operating surface of the abutment, prior to the operation of the fastener-inserting machine as a result of the pressure exerted on the abutment by the shoe.

The above and other features of the invention will appear in the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment thereof which is illustrated in the accompanying drawings and will be pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings,

Fig. 1 is a view in side elevation of a machine embodying the features of this invention;

Fig. 2 is a View, also in side elevation but showing only a portion of the machine illustrated in Fig. 1, and at an enlarged scale;

Fig. 3 is a view similar to that of Fig. 2 but showing certain of the operating elements of the machine in positions different from those assumed by these elements in Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a view in front elevation of a portion of the machine;

Fig. 5 is a view in horizontal section substantially on line VV in Fig. 2 and looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 6 is a view in front elevation, with certain parts in vertical section, of the shoe-supporting jack forming part of the machine illustrated in Fig. 1, a portion of the upper end of this jack being broken away; and

Fig. 7 is a view in vertical section, substantially on line V1IV1I of Fig. 6 and looking in the direction of the arrows.

Referring to these drawings, and particularly Figs. 1, 2 and 3 thereof, the machine therein illustrated comprises a column 10, of suitable height, on the topof which is mounted a fastener-inserting machine, indicated generally by the reference character 12, of the same type as that disclosed in United States Letters Patent No. 1,106,393, issued August 11, 1914 in the name of Fred L. MacKenzie, certain features of which are described in more detail in United States Letters Patent No. 389,275, issued September 11, 1888 in the name of Erastus Woodward, referred to on page 2 of the Mac- Kenzie patent. For the purposes of this invention there is secured to this fastener-inserting machine, by means of screws 14, 14, a wiper block 16, Fig. 2. As shown in this figure, the wiper block is provided with a passageway 18 through which fasteners, for example, tacks, supplied from a tack pot 19, may be driven by a driver 20. The operation of this driver is under the control of a vertically disposed lever 22, coil spring 24, throw-out cam 26, latch 28 and cam lever 30, as is explained in the aforementioned patents.

In the machine of this invention, the following arrangement is provided for tripping the latch 28, thereby to release the lever 22 to the action of spring 24 and to start the machine. Secured to one side of the fastenerinserting machine by screws 38, 38, is a plate 40, Figs. 2, 3 and 4, on which there is pivotally mounted, by means of a stud 42 and bushings 44, 46, Fig. 5, a downwardly extending arm 48. At its lower end, this arm is formed with an open-ended slot 50 which embraces a screw 52 carried by a block 54. This block is slidable on guideways 55, formed on the lower side of the wiper block 16. Secured to the right-hand end of the block 54, by means of a screw 53, is a shoe-engaging "ice abutment member 56 formed preferably of some nonmetallic resilient material, and having an operating surface 58 which is curved in a horizontal direction and inclined from the vertical, see Figs. 2 and 3. Threaded into the left-hand end of this block is a stop screw 60 having a rounded rubber cushion 62 on its outer extremity.

Near its upper end, the arm 48 is formed with a second open-ended slot which embraces the hub portion 71 of a finger 72 which is journaled on a stud 74. This stud is formed integrally with a block '76 which is slidable in a vertically extending guideway '78, formed on a portion of the machine 12, Fig. 5. A coil spring tends to rotate the finger 72 in a clockwise direction, Fig. 2, and to the extent determined by a stop abutment 82, adjustably secured to the side of the machine 12 by means of screws 84, 84. The right-hand end of the latch 28, which is pivotally mounted on the cam lever 30-, is formed with an offset hook portion 9-9 which extends to the right of finger 72, see Figs. 2 and 3. Ad-

justably secured to the finger 72 by means of a screw 92 is an abutment 94 which is directly beneath the hook portion on the latch 28, see Fig. 4. The latch 28 and lever 22 are provided with cooperating catch plates 96, 98, Figs. 1 and 2, and when the machine is stopped, these plates are held in engagement by the spring 24 and a coil spring 190 which is stretched between one end of the latch 28 and a pin 182 carried by the machine 12. Extending between a pin 104 on the arm 48 and a second pin 106 projecting downwardly from the plate 40, is a coil spring 108 which tends at all times to rotate the arm 48 in a counterclockwise direction and to the extent determined by a stop screw 110, threaded into a lip 112 on the plate 4t), Figs. 1, 2 and 4.

The fastener-inserting machine is started and caused to drive a fastener through the passageway 18 in the wiper block 16 as a result of movement of the block 54 to the left, from the position in which it is shown in Fig. 1 to the position shown in Fig.3 and until further movement of the block in this direction is prevented by the engagement of the cushion end 62 of the stop screw 60 with a portion of the machine 12. During such movement of the block 54, the arm 48 is rotated in a clockwise direction, against the resistance of the spring 108, thereby elevating the block 76, stud 74 and finger 72 so that the latch 28 is rotated, against the resistance of the spring 100, by the engagement of the abutment 94 with the hooked end 90 on the latch, and the catch plate 96 on the latch is eventually moved downwardly, away from the catch plate 98, thus freeing .j.

the lever 22 to the action of the spring 24 and starting the machine. With the block 54 held in the position shown in Fig. 3, as the throw-out cam 26, Fig. 1, which is carried by the drive shaft of the machine 12, completes a full revolution, the arm 30 on which the latch 28 is pivoted, will be swung first to the right and then to the left, Figs. 1, 2 and 3. As the latch 28 is thus moved to the right, its hooked end will eventually pass beyond the abutment 94 on the finger 72 thereby permitting the spring to rotate the latch 28 far enough to cause the catch plate 96 to engage the catch plate 98 just as the arm 30 completes its movement to the right. Now, as this arm is moved to the left and returned to the position shown in Fig. l, the latch 28 will swing the lever 22 in a counterclockwise direction and bring the fastener-inserting machine to a stop in the manner explained in the aforementioned patents. During such movement of the latch 28 to the left, its hooked portion 90 will engage the front face of the abutment 94 and the finger 72 will be rotated, in a counterclockwise direction against the action of the spring 80. When pressure on the block 54 is relieved, the arm 48 will be swung in a counterclockwise direction by the spring 108 and the block 54 thus returned to the position in which it is shown in Fig. 1. As the arm 48 swings in this direction, the finger 72 will be drawn downwardly until the abutment 94 is below the hooked end 90 on the latch 28 whereupon the spring 80' will reset the finger 72 to the position shown in Figs. 1 and 2. Hence, each time the block 54 is moved to the position in which it is shown in Fig. 3, the fastener-inserting machine will drive one tack through the passageway 18 in the wiper block 16 and, before the machine can be operated again, the abut ment 54 must be permitted to return to the position shown in Fig. 1.

The wiper block 16 is provided with an operating face having a curved portion which blends into an inclined portion 122, Figs. 1, 2 and 3 and, for the purposes of this invention, this machine is provided with a shoe support, or jack, for supporting a shoe as it is presented to the action of this wiper, prior to the operation of the fastener-inserting machine. Referring to Figs. 1, 2 and 6, this jack comprises a post which is slidable in a tubular housing 132 and carries a last pin 134. The housing 132 is secured at its lower end to a squared portion 136 formed on a cross shaft 138 by means or" a shoulder 139 and a nut 140, Fig. 6. At its opposite ends, this cross shaft is journaled in bushings 142, 142 which are square shaped in cross section, see Fig. 7, these bushings being held in place on the cross shaft by abutment plates 144, 144 and screws 146, 146. Extending forwardly from the column 10 are a pair of arms 148, 148 and on the outer end of each of these arms there are journaled three trunnion rollers 150, 152, 154, Fig. 7. The square bushings 142, 142 are received between these rollers as shown in Fig. 7 and are held in place by means of cover plates 156, 156 and screws 158, 158. Thus the jack post 130 and tubular housing 132 may be moved freely in a direction extending laterally of the machine 12 and relatively to the wiper block 16, as the square bushings travel on the rollers 150, 152, 154 and can be swung toward and away from the machine by rotation of the cross shaft 138 in the bushings 142. 142. As shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, the operating surface of the wiper 16 is disposed obliquely with respect to the path of movement of the jack, for a purpose that will presently appear. Normally, the jack post and tubular housing are held in the position shown in Fig. l by means of a cable 160 which is secured at its opposite ends to the column 10 and pass around the housing 132.

Threaded into the lower end of the housing 132 is a plug 162, threaded at .164, to which there is secured a hand wheel 166. This plug is provided with a pair of alined bores 168, 179, one of which is of smaller diameter than the other to provide a shoulder 172. The jack post 130 has a bore 174 which extends throughout its entire length and secured in the upper end of this bore, by a pin 176 is a bushing 178 and one end of a rod 188. This rod extends downwardly throu h the bore 174 in the jack post, the tubular housing 132 and the bore in the plug 162 and is threaded at its lower end as indicated at 182. Surrounding this rod is a compression spring which bears at its upper end on the bushing 178 and at its lower end on the shoulder 172. This spring elevates the jack post 130 to the extent permitted by the engagement of stop nuts 192, threaded one the lower end of the rod 180, with the hub of the hand wheel 166. As will be apparent, the vertical position of the jack post may be varied without altering the tension of the spring 190 by rotating the hand wheel 166, while the tension of the spring 190 may be adjusted, as desired, by manipulation of the stop nuts 192, after which the heightwise position of the jack post may be readjusted by means of the hand wheel 166.

in use, the machine which has just been described, operates in the following manner. The operator places a shoe to be breastline lasted on the last pin 134, which enters a hole in the last L, and with the post 130 and tubular housing 132 held in the position shown in Fig. 1 by the cable 160, he pulls up the upper and lining, adjacent to the breastline on one side of the shoe, and properly positions the wing of the counter by means of hand pincers. Then, while pressing the upper against the side of the last firmly with his fingers, the operator swings the jack post 130 and the shoe thereon inwardly, at the same time shifting the shoe laterally of the machine to bring the lasting margin of the upper materials. indicated generally by the reference character U, into engagement with the arcuate portion 120 of the operating surface of the wiper 16 in the desired location lengthwise of the shoe, depressing the shoe somewhat, against the resistance of spring 190 if necessary. Now, as he continues to swing the post farther in this direction to cause the upper materials to be engaged progressively by the wiper 16, the shoe will be forced downwardly against the resistance of the spring 190 because of the oblique disposition of the operating surface of the wiper with respect to the path of movement of the support. Hence, as the wiping action proceeds during continued movement of the shoe by the operator, the pressure exerted by the wiper on the upper materials, including, of course, the wing of the counter, not :hown, will increase. As the shoe is thus moved inwardly, the upper at the side of the last soon comes into contact with the operating surface 58 on the member 56 and this member is forced to the left, Figs. 2 and 3, against the resistance of the spring 108. Also, during the continued movement of the shoe and the post 130 the shoe is forced downwardly, as already explained. However, the member 56 is secured to the block 54 which is constrained, by the guideways 55 on the wiper block 16, to move in a horizontal path with the result that the upper is wiped in a heightwise direction relatively to the last by the member 56 as the inward movement of the shoe is continued. Eventually the shoe is brought to the position shown in Fig. 3 whereupon the fastener-inserting machine is set into operation and a fastener is driven by the driver 20 through the opening 18 to secure the upper materials in lasted position. The jack post 130 may now be swung outwardly to the position shown in Fig. l and the procedure outlined above repeated on the opposite side of the shoe.

Inasmuch as the shoe is yieldingly supported on the jack post 130 during the action of the wiper 16, the operator is not required to exert any particular force to hold the shoe up against the wiper. As will be apparent, the heightwise position of the jack post 130 may be adjusted, by means of handwheel 166, to accommodate different lasts Without affecting the tension of spring 190 while the setting of this spring can be adjusted, by stop nuts 192, to provide the desired wiping pressure. Furthermore, because of the oblique disposition of the operating surface of the wiper with respect to the path of movement of the shoe, the pressure exerted by the wiper increases as the wiping action proceeds. Thus, the upper materials, including the stilf counter wing, will be laid flatly down upon the shoe bottom before the fastening is driven therethrough at the completion of the wiping action. Also, as a result of the upwiping action of the member 56, any slight looseness of the upper which may have resulted from a relaxing of the pressure thereon by the operator, during the time when the shoe is swung from the position shown in Fig. 1 to a position where the wiper 16 is in engagement with the upper materials, see Fig. 2, will be removed and a snugly lasted upper obtained. Finally, once the shoe has been placed on the jack post 130 it need not be removed until the breastline lasting operation has been completed at both sides of the shoe inasmuch as the preliminary tensioning of the upper and lining and the positioning of the counter wings can be effected with the shoe spindled on the jack post.

Having described the invention, What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A machine for operating on shoes having, in combination, a fixed wiper provided with an operating surface, fastener-inserting mechanism associated with said wiper, control means for the fastener-inserting mechanism including an abutment member located adjacent to the operating surface of the wiper, said abutment member having an operating surface and being yieldingly movable from an initial idle position, in response to pressure exerted thereon, to an operative position to initiate operation of the fastener-inserting mechanism, and a support for a shoe on its last mounted for inward movement, relatively to said wiper and said abutment member, to cause selected portions of the upper materialsof the shoe supported thereon to be engaged progressively by the operating surface of the wiper and a portion of the upper on the side of the last to be pressed against said abutment member, as the shoe is moved inwardly beneath the wiper, and arranged to support the shoe yieldingly in a predetermined heightwise position, relatively to the wiper, said operating surface of the wiper being disposed obliquely with respect to the path of'movement of the support so that the shoe is forced downwardly, thereby causing the operating surface of the wiper to exert increasing pressure on the upper materials, as the support is moved to cause the progressive engagement of the wiper with said upper materials, and said abutment menber being so located relatively to the obliquely disposed operating surface of the wiper when in its idle position that the operating surface of the abutment member Wipes the upper materials at the side of the last upwardly in a direction heightwise of the last, as the shoe is moved downwardly, prior to the operation of the fastener-inserting mechanism in response to movement of the abutment member to its operative position.

2. A machine for operating on shoes having, in combination, a fixed wiper provided with an operating surface including an arcuate portion and a rectilinear portion, fastener-inserting mechanism associated with said wiper, control means for the fastener-inserting mechanism including an abutment member located adjacent to the operating surface of the wiper, said abutment member having an operating surface and being yieldingly mov able from an initial idle position in response to pressure exerted thereon, to an operative position to initiate operation of the fastener-inserting mechanism, and a sup port for a shoe on its last mounted for inward movement, relatively to said wiper and said abutment memher, to cause selected portions of the upper materials of the shoe supported thereon to be engaged progressively by said arcuate and rectilinear portions of the operating surface of the wiper and a portion of the upper on the side of the last to be pressed against said abutment member, as the shoe is moved inwardly beneath the wiper, and arranged to support the shoe yieldingly in a predetermined heightwise position, relatively to the wiper, said arcuate and rectilinear portions of the operating surface of the wiper being disposed obliquely with respect to the path of movement of the support so that the shoe is forced downwardly, thereby causing the operating surface of the wiper to exert increasing pressure on the upper materials, as the support is moved to cause the progressive engagement of the wiper with said upper materials, and said abutment member being so located relatively to the obliquely disposed operating surface of the wiper when in its idle position that the operating surface of the abutment member wipes the upper materials at the side of the last upwardly in a direction heightwise of the last, as the shoe is moved downwardly, prior to the operation of the fastener-inserting mechanism in response to movement of the abutment member to its idle position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 193,466 Thompson July 24, 1877 776,771 Ballard Dec. 6, 1904 1,103,204 Hoffman July 14, 1914 1,227,575 Borden May 29, 1917 FOREIGN PATENTS 2,917 Great Britain of 1877 

